Kim Jong-un’s half-brother was CIA informant, report says

(CNN) - The deceased half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un acted as an informant for the CIA, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing one unnamed source.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un who was poisoned in a nerve agent attack in Malaysia's airport in 2017, was a source for the CIA. / Source: CNN

The Wall Street Journal’s source said “there was a nexus” between the CIA and Kim Jong Nam, who it said would meet with CIA agents in Singapore and Malaysia.

Kim Jong Nam died in February 2017 after being poisoned with a nerve agent at Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

South Korea’s Intelligence Agency later said that Kim Jong-un ordered his death.

CNN has previously reported that North Korea consistently denied involvement in the killing, though United States, South Korean and Malaysian authorities have said Pyongyang was responsible.

Kim Jong Nam lived in exile from North Korea in the Chinese controlled territory of Macau, and had occasionally criticized its regime.

The CIA has declined comment to The Wall Street Journal or Washington Post.

CNN has also been declined comment from the CIA and cannot independently verify these reports.

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